Info Poster

Some info on the exhibition

The Exhibition

In the Western European and American view, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are considered to be democratic states governed by the rule of law, not least because they acquired this title during the Cold War.
There is, however, only limited recognition of the fact that in all three countries the state does not view freedom of expression as an inalienable right and that the monitoring or censorship of critical art and repressive measures taken against awkwardly critical artists are not uncommon.
The reasons for this are deep-rooted and entrenched – in Japan the failure to come to terms with the imperial past and the taboos surrounding the person of the Emperor, in South Korea the adversarial stance towards North Korea, and in Taiwan the state’s ideological rivalry with the People’s Republic of China.

The present exhibition Banned Images presents works whose aesthetic ambiguities are not only a provocation to this schematic opposition in East Asian consciousness but also relativize the artistic and art-historic perception for Western eyes, which have adopted the over-simplified polarizations.

with performance by Sung-dam HONG and Sunmu:
Insupportable Images

At the last minute, the specialist art transport company commissioned for the job refused to transport the works of Sung-dam HONG and Sunmu to Germany. During the exhibition opening, the two artists will portray this act of anticipatory obedience in an artistic performance.Sunday, 19 April, 15h
The Japanische Fraueninitiative Berlin presentsLecture by

Hiroko SAKAMOTO on female cartoonists in colonial and modern Shanghai and war – from a post-colonial perspective

(german-japanese)Wednesday, 22 April 2015, 19hArtist talk with

Sung-dam HONG and Taeko TOMIYAMA

(german-japanese-korean)Thursday, 7 Mai 2015, 10-20hConference

The german oak in the Yasukuni Shrine – 70 years after the end of the war and the long shadows of the past in East Asia and Europe

Werkstatt der Kulturen, Wissmannstraße 32, 12049 Berlin
The Yasukuni Shrine (“Pacifying the Nation”) is situated in Tokyo. The Shrine commemorates the fallen from the armed forces. Alongside war criminals, more than 50,000 conscripts from former colonies are honoured here – against the will of their relatives.
Official visits by members of the Japanese Government therefore cause outrage in the neighbouring countries of China, North and South Korea and Taiwan.
The conference will concern itself with this long-standing conflict, discussing, among other issues, why Germany shies away from taking a clear stance, or even makes a dubious contribution of its own in the form of gestures and gifts.
Film, talk with contemporary witnesses, lectures, panel discussion
Registration: anti-yasukuni@ngbk.de
(german-japanese-korean)Sunday, 17 Mai 2015, 10hGuided tour

Guided tour with Sung-dam HONG
in memory of the “Gwangju Massacre” of 18 May 1980